🐊 Crocodile Parthenogenesis

Hello 👋 

Welcome to Weekend Rounds. We like to get our paws dirty, and dig up the latest veterinary news. We’re not horsing around when we say that writing this newsletter and packing in as many corny animal puns is the best part of our week.

Thanks for being a part of it. If you like what you’re reading, consider sharing with your friends and colleagues with your unique referral code below.

Here’s what the doctor ordered this week:

• 🐊 A virgin birth in Costa Rica

• 🚒 Wildfire Round Up

• 📧 Share Weekend Rounds and earn swag

• 🌈 The animal spectrum

🐊 Parthenogenesis

Scientists have known for more than a century that some animals are capable of parthenogenesis - the creating of offspring without male fertilization. It is most commonly seen in in birds, lizards, turtles and sharks. But now it would appear we can add crocodiles to the list, as scientists say they have documented the first virgin birth in a crocodile.

Here’s the sitch: Coquita, a crocodile who had been living alone in a zoo in Costa Rica called Parque Reptilandia for 16 years, laid a clutch of eggs in 2018. It’s not uncommon for reptiles living in captivity to lay eggs, but given their isolation from from mates the eggs are usually discarded. However, despite almost no chance she had encountered a male, one of her eggs was later found to contain a fully formed crocodile fetus.

Although the egg was was never hatched and deemed stillborn, a scale was shipped to Dr. Warren Booth, a coauthor of the new study in Biology Letters and a researcher at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. With DNA sequencing, Dr. Booth was able to determine that the fetus contained a 99.9% match for it’s mother - thereby confirming it was produced by vertebrate facultative parthenogenesis (FP).

🚒 Wildfire Round Up

As wildfires continue to rage on the east coast, creating hazardous air conditions and post-apocalyptic looking skies, animals are feeling the effects as well. If you are working in affected areas, it’s likely that you’ve had clients ask about the potential impact on their pets or seen patients present with possible smoke or dust irritation due to air quality.

The AVMA shared these tips to protect pets, which you can use when speaking with clients:

• Keep pets indoors as much as possible, and keep your windows shut

• Birds are particularly susceptible and should not be allowed outside when smoke or particulate matter are present

• Let dogs and cats outside only for brief bathroom breaks if air quality alerts are in effect

• Avoid intense outdoor exercise during periods of poor air quality. Exercise pets when dust and smoke has settled

• Have a pet evacuation kit ready, and include your animals in your disaster preparedness planning

Since fires of this magnitude don’t typically push smoke down the eastern seaboard, many veterinarians and pet owners are dealing with this for the first time. Everyone from the AVMA, local veterinarians and Yahoo! News are sharing tips for keeping animals safe.

At the Toronto Zoo, healthcare professionals are opting to keep animals outside unless they have pre-existing conditions or show signs of distress. And it is no surprise that the fires have caused many animals to be displaced from their natural habitat and seek refuge at animal wellness centers.

As we all navigate this together, keep your fellow veterinarians in mind and be kind to nervous pet owners looking for advice and reassurance that their loved ones are healthy.

📧 Send it ‘round

In celebration of Pride Month, we’re giving away pronoun stethoscope clips to the first 5 people to share Weekend Rounds with 3 colleagues, once those colleague sign up with your referral link below!

They’ll get the same weekly dose of veterinary good vibes that you’ve grown accustomed to, and you’ll be able to encourage more inclusivity in healthcare by showing clients and colleagues your personal pronouns. That’s a win-win.

🌈 The pride of the animal kingdom

Courtesy of the amazing Instagram account @feminist, here is your friendly reminder that same-sex behaviour has been documented in over 1,000 species:

To celebrate Pride Month, The Vet Blast Podcast welcomed Dr. Omar Farías, VMD and president-elect of PrideVMC to discuss LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. He shares his story of coming out and the work being done to make veterinary medicine a safer, more representative community for all.

Have a listen on you favorite podcast player like Apple or Spotify.